TORONTO — Brian Johnson's fastball did not touch 90 mph on Tuesday night. His curveball, described this week by his Triple-A pitching coach as "probably his one plus pitch," was inconsistent all night. A pitcher who relies on command twice walked the No. 9 hitter.

But in earning his first major league victory in an 8-7 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, Johnson showed off his best quality as a pitcher — his perseverance.

Johnson is the kind of guy who bounced back from a recent line drive to the side of his head by recalling the more gruesome one that struck his face in 2012.

"The only way you can shake it off is to take one in the face before that," he said.

Just to reach his second major league start, Johnson had to overcome an untimely elbow injury, a terrifying carjacking and anxiety issues — all since his first big league game in July 2015.

For a man in Johnson's spikes, the adversity between the actual lines can pale in comparison.

And so Tuesday's rocky start did little to faze him. Pressed against the ropes in the first two frames, Johnson never fell to the mat. With two runs in and two more in scoring position one out into his start, he got a key forceout and strikeout to escape further damage.

With the bases loaded and the heart of the Toronto order staring him down in the second, another punchout and flyout extricated him from trouble.

"What I've been through helped me get through those first two innings," he said.

After surviving the traffic jam in the first two innings, Johnson settled in for the next three. He retired nine of the last 12 batters he faced, with solo home runs from Justin Smoak and Russell Martin two loud exceptions.

Even though his fastball sat around 88 mph most of the night, he picked up four of his six strikeouts and six of his nine swing-and-misses with it.

Johnson's final line was pedestrian, as he allowed four runs on seven hits in five laborious innings. But it was more or less what the Red Sox asked of him as he made the start on short notice, filling in for new father Eduardo Rodriguez.

"While there was a number of baserunners, he was able to keep his composure and make some pitches," said Red Sox manager John Farrell.

Heath Hembree, Fernando Abad and Matt Barnes combined to get the final dozen outs.

Of course, the story would be a touch different for Johnson were it not for the offensive support provided by Boston's bats. The Red Sox once again flexed their quantity-over-quality muscles, bunching together hits against Toronto's Marcus Stroman.

Mookie Betts, Mitch Moreland and Pablo Sandoval all had three hits. Betts hit his first home run of the season in the seventh, while Moreland notched yet another double — his 10th of the season — while driving home three on the night. Sandoval picked up his 10th RBI of the season with his first hit from the right side all year in the fifth.

Boston rapped out 15 hits — the fourth time in their last eight games the Sox have recorded at least 14 knocks.